Rotary engine.



PATENTED JUNE 6, 1905.

J. A. PETERSON. ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED 23.23. 1905.

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Witnesses No. 791,939. PATENTED JUNE 6, 1905.

' J. A. PETERS-0N.

ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLIGATIQIT FILED FEB. 23, .1905.

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511 uautoz \WOKKErr I q/Vihwoam No. 791,939. .PATENTED JUNE 6, 1905. J.A. PETERSON.

ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 23, 1905.

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UNITED STATES Patented June 6 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

ROTARY E NGI NE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 791,939, dated June 6,1905.

Application filed br ary 23, 1905. Serial No. 246,971.

To all whom it may concern- Be it known that I, JOHN A.PETERSON, acitizen of the United States, residing at Sheflield, in the county ofWarren and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Rotary Engines; and I do hereby declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same.

This invention relates to improvements in rotary engines; and itconsists in certain novel constructions, combinations, and arrangementsof parts, as will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of an engineconstructed in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 2 is a topplan view of the cylinder, the valvechest and controlling-valve beingremoved therefrom. Fig. 3 is a central vertical section through theengine, taken at right angles to the axis of motion. Fig. 4 is a detailview in elevation, showing the body portionof the piston. Fig. 5 is acentral sectional view through an engine, showing a different manner ofconstructing and mounting the slides or pistonheads in the pistons. Fig.6 is a detail perspective view of one of the piston-heads or slides.Fig. 7 is a detail view showing the packing-strips carried by thepiston-heads or slides. Fig. 8 is a detail view showing the members ofone of said packing-strips. Fig. 9 is a detail sectional view through aportion of the cylinder and a portion of the piston. Fig. 10 is a detailsectional view through a portion of the piston, showing one way ofsecuring the body portion of the piston to the heads thereof.

In the illustration accompanying this application I have shown apreferable construction of the engine, in which- 1 indicates a casing orcylinder, and 2 a rotating piston mounted therein.

3 indicates a steam-chest, and 4 a valve movable therein.

The casing or cylinder 1 is provided with removable heads 5, which areprovided with shaft-supporting bearings at 6. The cylinderheads 5 areformed with recesses at 7 to receive the head or member which carriesthe bearing 6. The inner surface of each of the heads 5 is formed withan eccentrically-arranged recess 8, in which is fitted one of the endheads 9 of the piston.

The piston 2 is formed with a hollow body portion connected with the endhead portions 9 and rigidly connecting the same. The body portion isformed with a series of slots or openings 10, through which thepiston-heads or slidesll pass. In the slots 10 bearing-strips 12 aremounted, the said bearing-strips being approximately semicylindrical andfitting concaved bearing-surfaces 13, formed in the adjacent edges ofthe body portion of the piston. The inner flat surfaces of each of thestrips 12 fit against the side faces of the piston-heads or slides 11,as clearly indicated in Fig. 3. In the rotation of the piston within thecasing 1 the piston-heads or slides 11 are thus permitted to slide backand forth through the openings 10 in the body portion of the piston. Thestrips 12 While permitting of the movement of the said slides orpiston-heads also form pressure-excluding joints between the bodyportion of the piston and the said heads or slides.

The piston 2 is rigidly connected with shaftsections 14:, which extendthrough the bearings 6, the said shaft-sections being fastened to theheads 9 of the piston. The turning of the piston will thus operate torotate the shaftsections 1 1. The shaft-sections are of courseeccentrically mounted with relation to the cylindrical walls of thecylinder 1, and the center of movement of the piston-heads or slides 11is located at a point concentric with the axis of the cylinder 1, sothat the outer edges of the said piston-heads or slides 11 will moveagainst the inner periphery of the cylinder, as indicated in Fig. 3. Thesaid piston-heads 11 are properly centered in the cylinder by means of acrank-shaped member 15, which is loosely mounted within the body portionof the piston 2, but is so held therein that the portion which engagesthe piston-heads or slides 11 may always remain in a position concentricwith relation to the cylinder. The said member 15 is constructed with ashaft portion 16, which engages bearings eXtend ing inwardly from eachof the piston-heads 11. To the ends of the shaft portions 16 are securedhangers 17, which extend to one side of the shaft 16 and are providedwith bearings 18, which loosely engage studs 19, extending inwardlybeyond the inner faces of the heads 9. The studs 19 may be made integralwith the said shafts or may be formed upon the inner ends of theshaft-sections 14:, which are extended through the heads 9 for thispurpose. The shaft portion of the hanger 15 forms a means for pivotallyconnecting and properly centering all of the piston-heads 11, so thatthe said piston-heads will always ene gage the inner surface of thecylinder 1 no matter what the position of the piston 2 within thecylinder. The eccentric mounting of the piston 2 is such that the bodyportion of the piston extends toward the inner periphery of the cylinderquite closely at one point, the space between the outer periphery of thesaid piston and the inner periphery of the cylinder widening graduallytoward the opposite side of the engine. As shown in the drawings, thepiston 2 is arranged so as to contact with the inner periphery of thecylinder at a point adjacent to the inlet-ports leading to and from thevalve-chest 3. From this construction it follows that as the pistonrotates the piston-heads will project more and more beyond the surfaceof the body portion of the piston as they recede from the side of thecylinder adjacent to the valve-chest 3. By introducing steam or otherpressure into the space between the piston and the cylinder the pressurewill be brought to bear upon the projecting ends of the piston-heads orslides 11 and will force the same, together with the body portion of thepiston, around within the casing 1. In this way a rotary movement willbe communicated to the shaft-sections 1 and of course to any machineryor mechanism which may be connected therewith. The body portion of thepiston, it will thus be seen, is driven by the piston-heads, and thepistons are kept inproper relation to the body portion of the piston bythe crank-shaped member 15, mounted within the said piston. In order toprevent any back pressure upon the receding pistons as they approach theside of the cylinder adjacent to the valve-casing again, aspringqaresscd packing-strip 20 is mounted in a recess 21, formed in theinner face of the cylinder 1. One or more springs of any desired typeare mounted in the said recess 21 and force the strip 20 outwardlyagainst the periphery of the'piston, making a tight joint between thetwo at this point.

The cylinder 1 is provided upon its outer surface with thickenedportions, as at 23 and 24:, for accommodating passage-Ways to direct thepressure to the engine-piston and to carry the exhaust from the casing.The thickened portion of the casing 23 is provided with pressureinlet-ports 25, which lead from the valvechest 3 into the interior ofthe cylinder at points to one side of the packing-strip 20, as indicatedat 26. The said ports introduce the pressure into the cylinder asuificientdistance to one side of the packing-strip 20 to permit theincoming pressure to impinge upon the ends of the piston-heads or slides11 as they begin to project beyond the body portion of the piston. Thethickened portion 21 of the cylinder preferably extends entirely aroundthe same and accommodates the exhaust-passage 27. The exhaust-passage 27is provided with a port 28, leading into the valve-casing 3. Theexhaust-passage 27 is provided with outlet-ports 29, which deliver theexhaust in to a discharge outlet or pipe 30.

The valve 41 is a slide-valve and has a reciprocating movement withinthe casing 3, so as to connect the ports 25 with the exhaust-port 28, atthe same time uncovering one of the ports 25 for admitting pressure toone side of the engine. If the engine is to be reversed, the valve ismoved to the opposite end of the casing 3, so as to connect thepreviouslyopened port 25 with the exhaust-port 28 and uncover theopposite port 25 for receiving pressure from the valve-casing. The valve4: is preferably provided with a rack having teeth 31, which are engagedby a toothed segment 32, secured to a rock-shaft 33. The rock-shaftextends outside the casing 3 and is moved by a lever 34, as may bedesired, for .running the engine in one direction or the other. As shownin Fig. 2, the centrally-arranged exhaust-port 28 enters thevalve-casing 3 at about the central portion thereof, while the portswhich are used alternately for the inlet of pressure are arranged uponeach side thereof. These ports are preferably all made of equal length,so that the hollow slide-valve 4 will readily fit over the same, asshown in Fig. 3. The passage-ways which lead from the ports 25 into thecasing of cylinder 1 preferably separate and pass through the thickenedportions of the cylinder 23 upon the opposite sides of the centralthickened portion 2 1.

As shown in Fig. 5, the cylinder is so constructed that pressure may beadmitted into the interior thereof at points so located that the initialpressure will engage the slides or pistons after they have beenprojected a considerable distance beyond the surface of the piston. Forthis purpose the passages 25 and 25", which lead into the casing fromthe ports 25, are extended almost a quarter ofthe way around thecylinder, so that pressure may be introduced into the cylinder throughthe ports 26 and 26" in the walls of the said cylinder. The walls of thecylinder are, as stated, provided with ports 26, located at pointsadjacent to the packing-strip 20, so that after the engine has beenstarted and is running well the pressure may be delivered only throughthe ports 26, thus having a longer time for bearing upon thepiston-heads and exerting its ex- IIO pansive power thereon. The ports26 are preferably controlled by rock-valves 36 and 37, which may bemounted in bearings 38, formed in the walls of the casing 1. Suitablehandles or levers 39 are provided for turning the said valves, and thusopening or closing the ports 26 and 26". It will be evident in startingthe engine that by leading the incoming pressure to and through theports 26 the initial pressure will be exerted upon one of thepiston-heads, which is projected quite a distance beyond the bodyportion of the piston, and will have an immediate effect in causing therotation of the said piston. As soon as the engine is well under waymore benefit is obtained from the incoming pressure by closing the port26 by means of the valve 36 and causing all of the pressure to enterthrough the ports 26 at a point higher in the cylinder. The port 26 andthe valve 36 are of course used in this manner when running the enginein one direction. When the engine is reversed, the port 26 and the valve37 are used in this manner for starting the engine. As shown in saidFig. 5, also the piston-heads instead of being jointed at the center ofthe engine may be made of single pieces of material, as illustrated inFig. 6, the said piston-heads 40 thus formed extending entirely acrossthe chamber within the engine-casing. When this form of piston-head isemployed, they are so cut centrally that they may extend past each otherwithout interfering with the movement of any of them. The said pistonsfor this purpose are reduced in size at the center, as indicated at 41,so that they may pass each other. Two of the pistons are formed with areduced portion 41 at their outer edges, while the third one is formedwith its reduced portion at the center.

The manner of packing the edges of the piston-heads which engage theinner surface of the cylinder forms an important feature of theinvention. As indicated in Figs. 6 and 7, the edges of the piston-headsare grooved, as at 42, in which are mounted the members 43 and 44 of acomposite packing-strip. These packing-strip members are made angular,so as to form means for packing the piston-heads both at the end and atthe side. The packing-strip members are made with lapped offset meetingends, the said ends being reduced in thickness, as at 45 and 46, forthis purpose. At the inner angle of each of said strip-sections inclinedsurfaces 47 and 48 are provided, which are engaged by the ends of thesprings 49, which are mounted in the end grooves of the piston-heads.The ends of the edge spring 49 are preferably curved, as at 50, so as tooperate against the inclined surfaces 47 and 48, and in this manner onespring is capable of forcing the packing-strips outwardly, not onlyagainst the cylindrical portion of the casing, but against the innersurfaces of the heads 5. The lapping joint formed by the reduced ends 45and 46 permit the strip-sections to separate more and more as the stripsbecome worn in the use of the engine. In this manner the strips willalways maintain a tight pressure-retaining joint between the pistonheadsand the casing. The piston may be further provided with. packing meansto render the engine tight and practically non-leakable, especially byproviding packing-rings, as 53, in the periphery of the piston-heads 9.The packing-strips are thus so located that they will engage theeccentric recess formed in the heads of the cylinder, making a tightjoint at this point. In the form of piston-head shown in Fig. 5 theparts of the piston which engage the piston-heads may be provided withsuitable packing, as at 54 and at any other points where it may be founddesirable without affecting the spirit of the invention.

While the piston may be formed of head portions 9, between which aresecured segmental pieces forming the head 2 by merely securing suchpieces to the heads with screws, bolts, or the like, I preferably formprojecting flanges or securing edges 55 upon the ends of the saidsegmental pieces, as 56, which form the body portion 2 and fit the sameinto segmental grooves 57, formed in the inner surfaces of the heads 9.In this manner the piston may be made more rigid and strong.

As illustrated in Fig. 1, the bearings 6 may be provided with adjustingbearing-blocks 51, which are fed forward by means of set-screws 52,there being preferably at least three of such blocks arranged around theshafts 14, so as to take up any wear occasioned by the running of theengine.

For operating the engine pressure is introduced into the valve-chamber3, this pressure being preferably steam. The valve 4 is moved so as tointroduce the pressure to the inlet-ports 25. When the engine is to berun in one directionas, for instance, that indicated by arrows in Figs.3 and 5the.valve is moved so as to uncover one of the ports 25, and thepressure will be permitted to enter through the ports 26 and at thestarting of the engine through the port 26, the valve 36 being properlyturned for this purpose. As soon as the engine has gained proper headwaythe valve 36 is generally closed, so that all the steam passes throughthe ports 26. The pressure'is thus directed to the interior of thecasing at such a point that its expansive power will continually haveopportunity for acting upon the increasing surface of the piston-head,which is at that time being forced beyond the periphery of the bodyportion of the piston. The steam or other pressure will have anopportunity to further expand until the piston-head passes the exhaustports or outlets 29. The engine may be then exhausted through saidports, and some of the exhaust will pass directly out through theaperture 30. Any remainder of the steam or other pressureproducing agentwhich may be entrapped between the piston-heads and the casing Willfindits way through the ports 26 and be directed, by means of the valve 4,from the port 25, which is covered thereby, into the exhaust-port 28 andmay thus find its way through the circular passage 27 to theexhaust-outlet 30. In reversing the engine it is only necessary to movethe valve 40 to the opposite end of the valve-casing 3, as indicated indotted lines in Fig. 3. By moving the valve to an intermediate point, soas to cover all of the parts which enter the valve-casing 3, the enginemay be stopped, for the admission of pressure thereto will thus be cutoff.

The parts of the invention as above described are simple in structureand not likely.

to get out of order easily apd yet are effective for the desiredpurpose. The engine is so constructed that a minimum of wear upon theparts will be had, though the engine may be capable of developingtremendous speed. The packing-strips will take up any Wear in the partsand will maintain a tight joint both at the ends and sides of thepiston-heads.

I consider that any minor changes in the details of construction arewell Within the scope of the invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A rotary engine, comprising a cylinder, a piston moving therein, ashaft connected with the piston, piston-heads slidabl y mounted in thepiston, and a loosely-mounted centering member within the said pistonfor properly controlling the position of the piston-heads.

2. A rotary engine, comprising a cylinder, a piston revolubly mountedtherein and arranged eccentrically within the cylinder, slidingpiston-heads projecting through the walls of the piston, and aloosely-mounted member arranged within the piston for centering theaction of the piston-heads with respect to the cylinder.

3. Arotary engine, comprisinga casing, an eccentrically-mounted pistontherein, shaftsections connected with each end of the piston, movablepiston-heads carried by the piston, and a crank member loosely mountedwithin the piston and movably holding the piston-heads in aconcentricrelation to the cylinder.

L. A rotary engine, comprising a cylindrical casing, a rotating pistonmounted therein, comprising a body portion having peripheral slots,heads secured to the ends of the body portion, shaft-sections rigidlysecured to the heads and projecting through the ends of the casing,piston-heads or slides extending through the slots in the body portionof the piston, packing-strips forming bearings for said piston-heads andmounted in said slots, inwardly-projecting bearings extending from eachpiston-head or slide, a shaft pivotally connecting all of said bearings,and hangers at the ends of said shaft loosely engaging journalsextending inwardly from the heads of the piston for properly centeringthe action of the piston-heads.

5. A rotary engine, comprising a casing, a piston member revolublymounted therein, comprising a body portion made up of segments extendingacross the cylinder, connecting ends for joining the same,shaft-sections rigidly secured thereto and projecting outside thecylinder, studs extending inwardly from the shaft-sections, piston-headsor slides extending between the segmental portions, hangers or linksmovably engaging the said studs, and a shaft carried by said hangers andengaging the slides for centering their movement within the cylinder.

6. A rotary engine, comprisingacasinghaving a revolubly-mounted pistontherein, the said casing having inlet-ports extending partially aroundthe same and means for temporarily introducing an initial pressure intothe cylinder at an advanced point with relation to the movement of thepiston for exerting a greater starting-pressure on said piston.

7. A rotary engine, comprisinga casinghaving peripheral passage-waysformed therein and extending partially around the cylinder, means forcontrolling the introduction of pressure to the passage-ways, andstartingvalves mounted across the said passage-ways for admitting astarting-pressure to the engine until the same is under way.

8. A rotary engine, comprising a'casing having an exhaust-passage formedin its walls and extending entirely around the cylinder, inletpassagesbeing also formed in said walls and extending only partially around thecylinder, a valve for controlling the admission of pressure to saidinlet-passages and valves for controlling the admission ofinlet-pressure at certain points for facilitating the starting of theengine.

9. A rotary engine, comprising a casing, a revoluble piston mountedtherein, piston-slides carried by the piston, end and side packingstripscarried by the piston-slides and having oblique surfaces adjacent totheir corners, and springs bearing upon the said oblique surfaces forforcing the packing-strips in both directions simultaneously.

10. A rotary engine, com prising a cylinder, a revoluble piston mountedtherein, having slides forming piston-heads, expansible packing-stripshaving oblique inner bearing-surfaces carried by each of said slides anda single spring engaging at its ends the said oblique bearing-surfacesof each of said expansible strips for forcing the same laterally andradially simultaneously.

ll. A rotary engine, comprising a casing, a revoluble piston mountedtherein, slides carried by the piston, sectional packing-strips carriedby the slides and engaging the peripheral and side walls of the casing,each of said sections having bearing-faces inclined with respect to thesaid peripheral and side walls, and a spring carried by each slide andbearing with its ends upon the said inclined faces.

12. A rotary engine, comprising a cylinder, a revoluble piston mountedtherein having peripherally and laterally extending grooves, expansiblepackingstrips mounted in said grooves and having obliquecorner-bearings, and a single spring mounted in each groove and capableof pressing on said corner-bearings of the expansible strips for forcingthem simultaneously against the peripheral walls and the end walls ofthe cylinder.

13. A rotary engine, comprising a cylinder, a piston revoluloly mountedtherein having piston-heads or slides projecting therefrom and formedwith grooves in the ends and side edges thereof,sectional angularpacking-strips mounted in said grooves and formed with reduced meetingends, the said strip-sections having inclined faces formed thereonopposite to their angular portions and springs mounted in the groovesand having their ends only engaging the said inclined surfaces forsimultaneously forcing the strip-sections outwardly and laterally.

14. A rotary engine, comprising a cylinder having end walls formed witheccentricallyarranged recesses, a piston mounted within the cylinder,the ends of the piston fitting into said eccentric recesses,shaft-sections rigidly connected with the ends of the piston, slidesmovably extending through the piston and engaging the walls of thecylinder and a loosely-arranged member carried within the piston forproperly centering the slides with respect thereto.

15. A rotary engine, comprising a casing having inlet-passages formed inthickened portions of its Walls, the said passages also having a seriesof ports opening into the cylinder, and means capable of closing some ofthe ports so that pressure will only enter through the other ports.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN A. PETERSON.

Witnesses:

JOHN SwANsoN, Y. L. STONE.

